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Product9

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Everything posted by Product9

  1. Product9
    To be honest I have been reading this forum less and less partially because the constant negativity started to affect my enjoyment of the series. Delta certainly has flaws, and even I'm less excited than I was when it first got going, but I'm still trying my best to enjoy the positives. Also, making sweet GIFs is a lot of fun.
  2. Product9
    As an experiment I made a somewhat long GIF of the final battle between Hayate and Cassim, but I cut out all those pesky character bits to see how it flowed. Kind of an interesting result. Imgur Link (warning, somewhat big file)
  3. Product9
    Wait, so you're telling me they're not actually naked and flying around in the sky? Well, this anime just lost some points. Seriously though, who wants a GIF of Chuck shooting missiles? 'Cause I made one. Imgur Link
  4. Product9
    That does bother me, because the modern Valkyries are supposed to have an advanced support AI, so you would think that would bring the craft down safely. Also (somewhat unrelated), since the footage they reviewed of Hayate going bananas had the lightshow effect on his fighter, does that mean that is actually happening, and not just special effects for the viewer's benefit?
  5. Product9
    Yeah, that was 04. 3 was more like being on the inside of an EDM song.
  6. Product9
    Maybe Alto just likes to feel pretty. I once had a dream I was Alto, and... ... you know what, never mind.
  7. Product9
    Which is why I find it strange and frustrating when a show like Young Justice doesn't get the attention it deserves. Great characterization, plot and execution with really good animation, and yet it seems to me like so few have seen it. And it seems to me like the bar for mecha anime is set really low. I imagine it's because we mecha fans will put up with a lot of nonsense to get to the mecha action. When Delta first started I wasn't crazy about how bananas it was. But I told myself and others I'd watch Delta and be excited for it, because I'll put up with a lot to get to the cool stuff. Unfortunately, I think the producers know this. I think it's really hard to measure art objectively, since by its nature it is subjective. I don't think Frontier was all that good from an objective standpoint (production value, recycled animation, plot and characterization shortcomings), but I still love it. I love it because it resonated with me on levels that other shows haven't, and because of that it'll always be something special to me. And to be fair, it had some amazing production value sometimes. Delta is the same way. It has a lot of shortcomings, but there are things that I like about it that will stick with me. Expectations certainly play a large role in these things. I imagine those who were super hyped about Delta are feeling the disappointment more than those who went in a little more cautiously. I remember that was certainly the case for Frontier, as a lot of people had expectations for that which weren't met. As an example, I think the reason I enjoyed Macross 7 as much as I did was because of my attitude going in. It had such a bad reputation that I avoided for a long time. I even had one friend who, when I asked him about 7, insisted to me that I don't watch it. So I didn't, for a while. Then Gundam 00 came out, and it disappointed me so greatly (talk about a show that makes no sense) that I was desperate for anything mecha, so I started watching 7, knowing full well that it was probably going to be terrible. And I ended up loving it. And that's probably why I loved Frontier, too. I went in with lower expectations, so I wasn't as disappointed when things didn't stack up against other shows like, say, Macross Plus. I think Macross 7 has primed me for just about anything the franchise can throw at me at this point. I don't mean to bash Frontier (or Delta for that matter), I'm just trying to put things into perspective and make sure that I (and maybe others) am looking at it from all the angles I can, rather than just my own limited experience.
  8. Product9
    Was it pointed out how the imagery of the Star Singer resembled the ruins in Macross Zero? I saw that pointed out somewhere and it's probably important or something. Though to be honest I don't remember, so maybe I'm totally off. Somebody help me out here.
  9. Product9
    If you're referring to me, then I will point out that I never said Frontier is "just as bad" as Delta. For the record, at this point in the series I do think Frontier was better (or at least I was more into it, for what that's worth), but objectively it wasn't that much better, was it? It suffered from a lot of the same problems Delta does. But, to be fair, Frontier did have a more focused story with fewer characters to develop. Actually, that might have been a problem, because Frontier had a lot of filler and I think at least one recap episode. Has Delta had a recap episode? I don't think it has. I mean, there was that one where they recapped most of Macross, but that was a little more ambitious than your average clip-show. I'm sure there are people out there who are really invested in Delta right now. I think it's important to take into account that we're also all eight years older than we were when Frontier was airing. I know that makes a difference for me, since I'm a lot farther from the target demographic than I was in 2008. So, on an unrelated note, I was watching Frontier earlier and remembering what everybody was irritated at Alto for back when Frontier was new. Hayate is known for constantly losing arms, and Alto was known for constantly purging FAST packs.
  10. Product9
    I agree that Frontier started a lot better than Delta. Frontier's opening act was spectacular. Unfortunately, it quickly degenerated into mediocrity with a few flashes of brilliance here and there. I'm just saying it shouldn't be setting the bar, because it suffered from a lot of the same things as Delta is right now, and unless I'm mistaken, people were angry back then too. On the mecha action front, I wonder what series has more at this point - Frontier or Delta? Also, Frontier would have been a lot better if they didn't try to shoehorn it into a high school setting for no good reason. At least Delta has that going for it... although I think more people can relate to kids in high school than they can to magical girls who are singing on a battlefield. That lack of relate-ability is probably a big part of why Delta's opening wasn't as widely accepted as Frontier's.
  11. Product9
    I feel like a lot of you guys are assuming they make the show as they go, but near as I can tell that's not how production works for TV shows or movies. If they ordered more episodes after episode 4 aired I seriously doubt they'd be able to produce new episode in time for episode 14 to air. Ten weeks is just not enough time to record the lines, write the scripts, do the animation, and all the other stuff that they need to do to make a show like this one (bearing in mind those things can't be done in that order - you can't record lines before there's a script). It's not like they come in on Monday to start producing Sunday's episode. I'm pretty sure they don't even produce the episodes in order, but admittedly I really don't know. Secondly, I'm seeing this "rose colored glasses" thing going on, and have been since Delta started. Every time there's a problem, Frontier is referenced as having done it better. The thing is... Frontier wasn't that good. It was okay, but it had a lot of the same problems as Delta. Remember "High School Queen"? Just... just remember that for a second. Heck, Frontier didn't even have that much mecha action either, and the action it did have was completely rehashed almost every single time. It still had the same VF-171s (albeit blue) exploding over and over and a few reused shots of VF-25s doing their thing. Frontier also wasted time. Remember that episode about Michel's older sister? How did that play into the overall plot? It didn't. I'm just trying to put things into context here, because now I'm seeing a lot of sentiment for pre-episode 13 Delta, as if that was so much better. It wasn't. I was there; I remember. If anything, pre-ep13 was better because we still had the rest of the series to look forward to. Honestly, I'm withholding my overall opinion of Delta until I can watch it at my own pace and actually get a feel for the story more naturally. The problem with having entire weeks between episodes that take place back to back is that it does affect our perception. The flow is interrupted, and there is a lot of time to conjecture and speculate, and when the next episode airs most of those things are rendered null. Then the process begins anew.
  12. Product9
    They sort of did that with Frontier. Apart from fixing animation errors (which was good), they also added some extra recycled fluff to the final battle. Mostly a lot more ships and Valkyries blowing up right before the part with Alto being woken up by Ranka's singing. IMO it sort of cheapened the whole thing because, like I said before, my eyes are drawn right to recycled animation. It made it feel exactly like what it was - stock footage crammed in for no good reason. But, yeah, with 3d models changing the angle doesn't mean much. That's what makes them so efficient - they're 3d. The only thing I can guess is they have some caching or baking that speeds up re renders with different textures, but to me it just seems like they are being lazy. Just changing the camera angle a bit would add something new. But, again, I have no idea how they do things over there and can only draw from my own limited experience in 3d graphics. Also, they cheat in some shots, like the VF-171's gunpod appearing out of nowhere behind the machine as it transforms, so changing the camera angle in that instance would give that away.
  13. Product9
    I was mistaken, the animation from Sayonara no Tsubasa wasn't reversed to make the PV1 animation. I must have been watching a reversed YouTube clip earlier when I was looking for the SnT animation that was in my memory. Checked my copy and made a little GIF to show what I'm on about. I couldn't quite get them synced up exactly 'cause the videos I sourced were at different frame rates, but I got pretty close I think. Imgur Link
  14. Product9
    The best answer I can think up is "it shows that you care." If they're just going to reuse the same stuff over and over, they might as well just record the battle scenes using the latest Macross flavored video game and call it good. Heck, they can produce the whole anime that way. Why even have voice actors when text bubbles will get the same story across? I'm calling it now - the next Macross show is going to have a "www.Bandicam.com" watermark on top of the screen. Though, I'm a little confused as to why they don't at least change the camera angles to make the animation at least seem kind of new. Isn't one of the benefits of CG that you can move the camera and lights around really easily without actually having to create any new content? Admittedly I'm far from professional level at computer graphics, so there is probably some trick they're using like prebaked lighting or something that I don't know about. But given the models are different (such as the Draken chasing the -31 in PV1 being a reversed shot of Brera's VF-27 chasing the YF-29) wouldn't they have to rerender everything anyway? Might as well tweak the paths or change the camera angle to give it a fresh feel.
  15. Product9
    Can anyone explain to me why Hayate doesn't just take off the fold quartz pendant? That was what was allowing him to resonate with Freyja, right? Alto put on the earring to tap into the fold song. Hayate could take off the pendant to tap out. Right?
  16. Product9
    Well, the thing is... Even the Frontier movies reused a ton of animation from the TV series. If a theatrical release movie can't even get all new animation, then I don't know what can. Honestly, I think the passion just isn't there.
  17. Product9
    Maybe if the war took place in the summer. Unfortunately, it happened when school was in session, and since so many SMS pilots are high school students they couldn't take the time to participate.
  18. Product9
    Cashew was never an important character. He wasn't even shown in the Mission 01 battle, only appearing in Mission 02 standing with the other knights. Honestly, I was really hoping he would die in this episode - not because I thought it would be dramatic or important to the story, but rather because I really wanted to use that joke that's been rolling around in my head for the last several weeks (see page one of this thread). Because I was thinking about that as the episode wrapped up, I actually didn't even pay that close attention to what was going on. The mecha action, while cool and all, sort of slipped past me because I was thinking about my joke. After it ended, I realized for the first time while watching a Macross show (and a new one at that) that I just didn't really care that much what was going on. To be honest, though, I never had high hopes for Delta. Not since the first teaser released had animation reused from Sayonara no Tsubasa (my eyes are drawn to recycled animation like magnets). Frontier was already borderline bad because of weak writing and a lot of reused animation, and the movies weren't much better. Delta is unfortunately just the logical next step of the decline in quality we've had in Macross for a long time. I always try to look at the positives, and really try to avoid being negative. But, even I've run out of excitement for this one. Hopefully the last few episodes will have some good GIF material. I don't care how the story ends, because it never really began... Anyway, about the gas jet clusters - they probably used them up getting into the (magically hovering?) shuttle. I shouldn't have to conjecture that, though. And the real reason I say the goo doesn't explain much is because a) it doesn't explain how their hair and head accouterments work, and b) I'm still not clear on how Sheryl went from being in prison to having a holographic costume in Sayonara no Tsubasa. If it was the stage, then why does she have a skintight costume in the TV series? I know it's too much to ask them to think things through before they put them in the TV show, but can they please think things through before they put them in the TV show??
  19. Product9
    So, is no one gonna comment on how Walkure's costumes apparently consist of rockets and goo? I mean, it just explains... so very little.
  20. Product9
    Seriously though, yes I am.
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  22. Product9
    Haven't really checked back in the last few days. A lot to get to. The love affair between Basara and Sivil probably helped, since it was their team up at the end of the series which turned the tide. That would certainly explain her airplane hair. Keep in mind the Ozma fake-out in Frontier. Mr. Kawamori knows how to troll an audience. Any chance it was Hayate's new VF-31? I don't know where they get their fighters from, but if Epsilon is supplying both sides, then maybe? It would be pretty funny if there was some misunderstanding somewhere in the supply line they got an Sv-262 delivered instead. Do we know where Lady M is based? Is there any reason she couldn't be in another part of the galaxy? I guess the Vajra instructed the bacteria to be less harmful to humans once they got that mess sorted out. Ranka fixed Sheryl by moving the bacteria, and I'm sure the Vajra hive-mind had a major part in the translation of those instructions. Or at least they must have been aware of it. Quoting myself here. After watching the scene with subs it dawned on me that Mirage was just surprised that Berger knew so much about her. I guess it would be surprising if some random guy started telling me all about my family history. --- I can't find it, but someone mentioned the possibility that the Sv-262 might be a reference to the Me-262. Good observation, if it turns out to be accurate. Though I'm not sure how it would be relevant given it seems to be about on par with the VF-31. Also, Interesting observation. Everyone has pretty interesting theories about the identity of Lady M as well. I wonder if Mr. Kawamori will blow us all away and have her be Lynn Minmay. I know how unlikely that is, which is all the more reason it would be a very powerful choice, at least in terms of surprise. Though, what about Grace O'Connor? I know her name doesn't start with an M, but she's the kind of character that would be be pulling strings from behind the scenes. Also, isn't she older than she looks or am I remembering that wrong? Depending on what continuity they go with she is either a villain or a heroine, and either turbodead or possibly not dead? Though I guess she could possibly be not dead in either continuity, what with all the body swapping and all.
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  25. Product9
    Oh, right the Sigur Valens and the reaction bomb. Durr. How did I forget about that... it just happened a few episodes ago. I think it's time to refresh myself on Delta and watch episode one to wherever we are when I get there in preparation for the last few eps. Thanks for the discussion... see you guys in the Mission 19 thread.
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